The Cure, стр. 50
‘So,’ said Jay, again. ‘You’re telling me that our whole plan was actually for nothing? And McGregor attacked me for no reason? And you travelled miles and miles to find a professor who may or may not have been alive, on the chance he may or may not be able to create an antidote to the toxin, that wasn’t really a toxin? Danny went to the reservoir to destroy it when it didn’t need to be destroyed and is now missing, presumed dead.’
‘Well when you put it like that. Erm, yes. I suppose we did,’ said Seth.
‘We lost Brad Junior and Faye simply because of a lack of communication and trust. Tallulah could’ve died too. I could have died. People need to see the bigger picture. The world is in turmoil and it’s moments like this more than ever that we need to support each other,’ said Jay, the rest of them nodding.
‘Oh, and one last thing,’ he said. ‘Who in the holy hell of this whole mess is Rose? And where did she go.’ Everybody shrugged.
***************
As he did before everything had transpired, Logan sat alone with his head in his hands looking out to the darkness of the vast desert.
‘Penny for your thoughts,’ said Tallulah as she put a hand on his shoulder and sat down beside him.
‘Jay’s right you know. Brad, Faye and Danny are dead because of me.’
‘You know that’s not true. You had a choice and you made the right one. They made a choice too. To follow you because you spoke the truth. Your passion for other people makes you a natural born leader. They didn’t die for nothing. They died for a cause,’ she said.
‘I miss him,’ he replied. ‘He was my brother and I sent him out there to die, knowing it was always going to be a possibility.’
‘I know. I do too,’ said Tallulah ‘He was my friend too. But we still have each other and together we have a future. We know we can make this work. It won’t be easy, but we can do this. I love you.’
As they reflected, they heard shouting coming from over by the fire.
‘What’s that noise?’ said Chuck. Everyone shushed each other listening.
‘Maybe it’s the General, coming back to attack,’ Seth said jumping up to attention.
‘No, listen. It sounds like’.
‘A motorbike,’ said Logan.
Epilogue
‘I remember my father telling me bedtime stories when I was a young girl, of a time where people lived their lives carefree and happy’.
‘Those days are long gone now and just weeks after the collapse of the community the days have become harder and harder. Lack of food and water has meant rationing, and now fuel reserves have depleted we travel by foot across barren land scavenging whatever we can. Families have left the community to go it alone. Some returning to the destroyed sight of the base to see if they can live within in the rubble and find any supplies.
With less than 800 of us left we don’t know if we can even make it to the closest city.
Fighting among the remaining base community is commonplace and the board members have disbanded with no hope of survival in the coming days.
Our own group, who once took on the government, continue to fight the good fight but knowing what waits for us in the cities scares us more than knowing the Commander General could return at any time to kill us all. Some even pray for death.
Logan and his father try to lead us but even they are losing hope. We are slowly turning into animals.
We have now lost all contact with the Prison, Professor Brittle and Mendez. No-one is coming to save us. We are alone.’
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my long-suffering wife Toyah for pushing me to write this book and realize my dream of publishing something someone, somewhere, may wish to one day pick up and read. Thank you to my beating heart, Joshua, Jacob and Bethany. My purpose in life and the people who save my soul daily. Thank you to my mum, Sandra Horgan, who I don’t thank enough for what she does for me. Now it’s in print so if I ever forget please turn to this page and repeat. I really am grateful. Thank you to Juju, my Grandma, Julia Horgan B.E.M. who bankrolls me on a weekly basis and feeds the cats. Thank you to Stuart Craig for all your support and help with the kids. It never goes unnoticed and is appreciated. Thank you to all my friends over the years who have always been there for me. Your loyalty and respect are worth more than all the dollars in the world.
Thank you also to Lynette Anderson for her publishing advice and The Funky Books Co. for the Cover Art.
Special thanks to Carol Fernandez for her proofreading, despite English being her second language and still better than my only language!
Thank you to Danial Evans for your continued support with this project. Thank you to Darren Bowen for showing me that stepping outside your comfort zone reaps rewards.
Finally, thank you to all the doctors and nursing staff of Piam Brown Ward, Southampton and Poole Hospital for looking after my boy. Martin Hussey, you are a legend. Thank you.
cOMING sOON
PARCHMAN